Wednesday, February 11, 2009

Saturday February 7

There were a ginormous 12 games on tap Saturday as the NHL was buzzing with midseason action. Former Islanders did not shy away from providing support playing roles in 6 of those tilts. Here is a quick look:

Boston forward Petteri Nokelainen assist on the Bruins' 2nd goal as they were edged by the visiting Philadelphia Flyers 4-3 in OT. Nokelainen snapped a 10 game assist-less stretch and now has 2 helpers on 32 games this season. Tough Philly winger Arron Asham assisted on the Flyers' 2nd goal as they rallied from a 3-1 deficit in the 3rd Period. Asham snapped an 8 game point-less and assist-less run with the helper and now has 3 goals and 5 assists for 8 points on 47 games.

A pair of Oilers' FIs notched assists as defenseman Denis Grebeshkov aided on the team's 2nd goal and winger Robert Nilsson on their 3rd as Edmonton was deconstructed by the host Detroit Red Wings 8-3. Greb snapped a 3 game point-less streak and now has 4 goals and 20 assists for 24 points on 49 games. The d-man keeps pushing his career highs to new marks and now has 20 assists for the first time on a season. Nilsson has a point per game over the last 6 (1 goal, 5 assists) and now has 7 goals and 12 assists for 19 points on 42 games.

Florida winger Richard Zednik assisted on the lone Panthers' goal as they were felled by the host Washington Capitals 3-1. Zed now has 8 goals and 12 assists for 20 points on 41 games. For the 9th straight season and 10th time on his career Zednik has reached the 20+ point mark. Over the last 2 games he has notched 3 points on 1 goal and 2 helpers.

Center Tim Connolly assisted on Buffalo's 1st goal as the Sabres were edged by the host Ottawa Senators 3-2 in SO. Connolly now has 11 goals and 9 assists for 20 points on 20 games. For the 2nd straight season and the 7th time on his career TimCo has reached 20 or more points. Over the last 7 games he has been especially potent with 10 points (6 goals, 4 assists) including 3 game winners. Having played less than half the games Connolly is already 6th on the Sabres in goals scored only 1 behind the 4th highest scorer. Connolly also scored on his SO attempt in the 3rd of the 4 rounds.

Winger Ryan Smyth had the secondary assist on the lone Avalanche goal as the Avs fell to the host St. Louis Blues 4-1. Smyth now has 16 goals and 26 assists for 42 points on 53 games. He has notched at least 1 helper in each of the last 3 games to the tune of 4 assists.

Vancouver goaltender Roberto Luongo had an awesome game stopping 36 of 39 shots as the Canucks downed the visiting Chicago Blackhawks 7-3. Luongo has won his last 2 starts after going winless in 4 straight and is now 13-7-5 on the season. He has been receiving a fair amount of offensive support as of late with the 'Nucks scoring 11 goals against the 6 he has surrendered. Receiving a rare assist, on the game winner nonetheless, was d-man Rob Davison. He snapped a 10 game assist-less and point-less run and now has 2 helpers on 22 games. Sadly, the 2 helpers are the most Davison has recorded in a season since the 2006-07 campaign while still with the San Jose Sharks.